The Idea That Changed American Education

How Milton Friedman Sparked the School Choice Movement

In 1955, Milton Friedman published an essay that quietly disrupted a widespread assumption about American education.

In The Role of Government in Education, Friedman drew a distinction: the public’s interest in education does not require the government to operate schools.

Ensuring children have access to education is justified, and even public financing of that education, but a government monopoly over schooling is not necessary — or even a good thing, Friedman argued.

That distinction became the intellectual birth of the modern school choice movement.

Financing Education Is Not the Same as Running Schools

Friedman accepted that education generates public benefits. An educated citizenry with shared values strengthens democracy and social stability. That “neighborhood effect,” he argued, could justify the government requiring a minimum education and even financing it with taxpayer dollars.

But he asked a question almost no one else was asking: why does financing education mean administering schools?

His answer was simple and radical: it doesn’t.

Instead of the government running schools, Friedman proposed giving parents vouchers —public funds redeemable at approved schools of their choice. Schools could be operated by for-profit entities, nonprofits, religious institutions, and some could even still be run by the government. The state’s role would be mostly limited to setting minimum standards and funding students.

“Government would serve its proper function of improving the operation of the invisible hand without substituting the dead hand of bureaucracy,” Friedman wrote.

From Theory to National Movement

For years, the idea lived mostly in academic circles. But once states began experimenting with vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and later education savings accounts (ESA), the logic proved durable.

Today, school choice is one of the fastest-growing education reforms in the country.

• More than 1.5 million students currently participate in 75 school choice programs in 34 states nationwide.
• Five states have truly universal programs, meaning they offer universal eligibility, universal funding, and universal options.

New choice programs in states like Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina have seen blockbuster sign-up numbers. 

Families, whose children are assigned to government-operated schools by ZIP code, now have more agency in their children’s education. When financial and other barriers are removed, families can choose where and how they educate their children.

The Federal Conversation Has Shifted

Even Washington has changed.

Last summer, President Trump signed legislation enacting the Federal Tax Credits for Scholarships (FTCS), which offers tax credits to individuals who donate to nonprofits that provide scholarships to K–12 students.

A presidential administration getting such a proposal across the finish line would have been an uphill battle just a generation ago. It’s possible today because of Friedman’s insight in 1955 — and the tireless work since by advocates across the country, whose voices are finally being heard in the corridors of federal power.

Why Milton Founded EdChoice

Friedman understood that ideas often require a framework of support to keep them going. He believed allowing education dollars to follow children was too important to remain more theory than practice.

That conviction led Milton and his wife, Rose, to found what would become EdChoice, originally established as the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

Thirty years later, the movement Milton helped spark is reshaping policy across the country.

EdChoice is setting the pace. We will continue to work toward achieving Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of universal educational choice:

All students. All options. All dollars. 

By 2030, we aim to triple the number of states offering true universal educational freedom and increase the number of families enrolled in and aware of choice programs by 30 percent. We are also focused on expanding access, increasing awareness, improving usage, and legally defending existing programs so they can thrive for generations to come. 

Here’s to the next 30 years of educational choice and beyond!